In an ever-changing city, the River Thames is one part of London which remains triumphantly winding through the bustling centre. We don’t recommend jumping into this mighty river for a swim, unless you fancy a trip to A&E – but thankfully, it really couldn’t be easier to get from one side of the Thames to the other.
In fact, a series of bridges span the river throughout the city, with buses and cars bustling back and forth. The Tube is perhaps an even more valuable asset for commuting from north to south, taking just one stop to travel from Embankment to Waterloo or London Bridge to Monument.
However, it wasn’t always this way. From 1600 to 1814, it was quite common for the River Thames to freeze solid for up to two months at a time. This wasn’t a thin layer of ice with chilly water flowing underneath, but ice so thick that Londoners could walk across it with ease.
The Frost Fair of 1814 took place on the River Thames
Historians and scientists refer to these years from 1600 to the early 1800s as the ‘Little Ice Age’, a period when the entire Northern Hemisphere experienced significantly colder temperatures. During these harsh and unforgiving winters, when ice on the Thames in London could reach a thickness of 11 inches, famine and death were common across Europe. However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
Frost fairs would host a number of activities all on the river’s surface
Frost fairs were organised whenever possible, with the winter of 1683-84 being particularly memorable for activities such as horse and coach racing, ice skating, puppet plays, sledding, football, and even nine-pin bowling – all taking place on the river itself. Even more brutal pastimes like bull-baiting and throwing at cockerels were also part of the fair’s attractions.
English diarist John Evelyn described the spectacle: “Coaches plied from Westminster to the Temple, and from several other stairs too and fro, as in the streets; sleds, sliding with skeetes, a bull-baiting, horse and coach races, puppet plays and interludes, cooks, tipling and other lewd places, so that it seemed to be a bacchanalian triumph, or carnival on the water.”
The period was so cold it is known as the ‘Little Ice Age’
One pamphlet from the time advertised the unique experience of being shaved in the middle of the frozen Thames. The frozen river was also popular with English royalty, with Henry VIII travelling from central London to Greenwich via sleigh in 1536 – a sight that would have made for a fantastic Christmas card had he been donning a red cloak and a 21st-century Santa hat.
Get the top stories from across London directly to your inbox. Sign up for MyLondon’s The 12 HERE to get the biggest stories every day.